Night Snatchers
by Blondemidget
Summary: Inspired by Suzanne Collins to write my own story. Set after World War 3, and on the verge of another chaotic war, Nina Redway and thousands of other families like hers are in the grips of poverty, ruled over and vunerable to the ominous Russian Goverment. But children are vanishing...made to fight for the Russian goverment to overthrow any country who rebel.
1. About

Set 10 years after the apocalyptic events of World War 3, England and America are in the grips of Poverty. With no leader or any form of Government or control, and with radiation sickness and birth defects ravaging the young, England is in danger of being attacked and enslaved by the ominous Russian Government.

Buts its their children who are suffering.

On the outskirts of every major city, children are disappearing. With no one to blame but the sinister Russian leader rumours circulate about Russians plan to overtake America and the ruins of Great Britain with means of creating a defence force made up of British children, trained, brainwashed and enslaved.

Nina Redway, an east end Londoner in the slums, has every intention of being 'Hunted' by the snatchers to save her captured older brother.

Even if it means getting killed.

What she reveals could save everyone.

Or ignite a war.


	2. Preface: Zugzwang

The Hunters

* * *

It all seemed to dwell down to this moment in my short life.

As I looked into the eyes of a killer, something in me froze over and I became numb, an empty shell in those waiting moments.

Since when had it become so violent? We human beings, so destructive, so greedy and compassionless, since when were we in control of who lives and who dies?

Stood before her were endless lines of small children, poised with guns, all aimed at me.

Her finger was poised over the button, and the Earth seemed to stand still for one moment, its breath held, waiting.

Much like me.

I stood with my sword drawn, panting slightly, sight blinded with my own blood.

Since when was one fickle human being in control of thousands, millions of beating hearts, raw emotions? Why had it come down to this? My heart pounded frantically as her finger drifted closer to the button, eyes flashing with deranged joy.

One small movement and it would all end.

The Earths surface was already bruised and wounded from us. Why? That crucial question, asked by millions before us. Why was the answer always death? My father's burning face, grandpa's disappearance, and mother's deranged attacks.

Summer's radiation sickness. All those helpless children.

It was never going to end was it?


	3. Nightmares

The Hunters

Chapter One Nightmares

* * *

I wake, tears streaming down my cheeks, with his name upon my lips.

_John Redway. _

Before I opened my eyes, the dream, no the _memory,_ replayed in my mind, over and over again. I wasn't watching from afar in the distant future, I was living it from the present.

I trembled.

I could still hear the deafening wail of the siren over London, hear the panicked cries of our friends and other citizens, and smell the stench of sewage and harsh smoke. In my childlike mind, of seven years of age, I could see my mother's face, twisted with terror, moving swiftly through our small house, sweeping my baby sister into her arms and calling for my eldest brother.

"Jayden! Jayden! Where are you?"

Her voice brakes slightly at the last syllable, her hands shaking violently. I crouch beside the table, hands covering my ears from the shrieking of the siren, whimpering at the distant screams of men and women, running for their lives. This wasn't a drill, I remember thinking, this was real. I clench my fists into my eyes this time, forcing the tears to stay.

Father comes into the house, blackened with smoke but unscathed. Jayden trails behind, his dark blond hair and strong face streaked with dust. In his arms he carries two large boxes of supplies, eyes tight with fear. I feel my father's secure arms circle around me. I cling to him, burying my face in his singed jacket. My mother rushes to Jayden with a cry of relief, and they embrace.

"John, the sirens! This time it's nuclear!" Never before have a seen my mother lose control like she did then. Her perfect

Façade disintegrated. Tears welled up and spilled over, lips trembling.

"Rose, we haven't got much time. They're coming for us. They already dropped one over Edinburgh and now Bristol. London's next." Father's voice was disturbingly calm as he took her hand and jerked, forcing her to follow him.

Summer began crying, her face distorted with discomfort. I don't remember that much until we were running. The sound of Father's heavy boots hitting the dirt and mother's panting seemed loud in my ears. My father's lips were at my ear, his last words to me whispered.

"I'm sorry you had to be born into such a cruel world Nina. If I could change the way humans thought, this world would be a much better place, we're destructive beings." He pulled away to look at me, his eyes suddenly fierce and icy.

"You carry on fighting for me. Accomplish what I started but cannot do."

The look in his blue eyes was strange. Looking back then I could only describe it as raw pain and fierce resentment. He kissed me on the cheek.

"Daddy loves you very much." I embraced him tighter than ever, too scared to speak.

Time moved slowly from then on. Looking over my father's shoulder as he ran and I saw everything.

Up in the dark sky, a large jet shot over London, escorted by two smaller ones.

Something dropped from underneath it. Something long and smooth.

My stomach drops.

The siren pitched, like a hush before the storm.

"John! Its here already!" Mother's voice is stricken and she struggles to keep up, clutching her swollen, pregnant belly. What seems like a small eternity yet was only a matter of a few seconds, I watched with dread as the bomb moved closer to the ground.

"The bunker is just up ahead, Rose we'll make it!" Father grabs my mother's free hand again and pulls her along. Beads of sweat collect on her forehead as she struggles to pull breath. I grip tighter into the jacket.

Jayden, further up stops abruptly and drops our supplies. He crouches down on the parched dirt and presses a button hidden in the grass. A metallic door opens and he steps into the bunker, disappearing from view with the boxes.

We were too late.

An ear splitting explosion erupted from behind us, a wall of fire and bellowing mushroom cloud, barely contained, were released with no mercy, no regrets. A wall of pure fire engulfed London in a matter of seconds. I could smell the pure power of destruction; hear the screams of people suddenly silenced. We reached the entrance, almost feeling the heat of the wall of fire, just mere seconds away.

My father helps lower us into the bunker and presses the button.

"_JOHN-_!"

My mother lurches towards the exit, her arms outstretched, scrabbling with the closing doors, shouting incomprehensible words.

Just before the metal walls closed, my father looked lovingly down on our shocked faces, eyes full of adoration and sadness. His mouth opened.

"I'm sorry…"

The rush of fire engulfed him, vaporizing his body, turning him into dust. For one moment, I capture one last look of him, fire licking the sides of his face, blue eyes a blaze with life, like a phoenix taking flight.

The doors close and the scent of charred flesh filled the small space between us, like a thick blanket.


End file.
